As of November 2018, the BIC Directory and BICDU files will no longer be published.

These files are replaced by BIC Plus or the BIC Directory 2018, available only in .TXT and .XML formats.

Remote Services

SWIFTRef have recently made some improvements which may impact systems which rely directly on the SSL certificate.This change may impact systems accessing automated file download, RemoteData API and REST API.

In order to keep system compatibility, please consider that HTTPS security layer:

if you have no BIC or do not know your BIC,
please contact the SWIFTRef administrator
for your institution to request access.

For all SWIFTRef sales enquiries, please contact us
through Swiftref@swift.com.

Product Updates

Brand new RESTFul web services replacing the older SOAP based APIs now available. See www.swift.com/swiftref
for more details.

New population of bank hierarchy in Bank Directory Plus now available.

From the May monthly publication onwards, a new SWIFTRef directory - named
SWIFTRef Reach Plus
- is available. SWIFTRef Reach Plus lists payment clearing and settlement systems and their participants. It is used for payment routing purposes.

From the June monthly publication onwards, a new SWIFTRef directory - named
Entity Plus
- is available. It lists all financial institutions identifiers (BICs, LEIs, GIIN,s BRNs, MICs) and cross-references them. From 2016 onwards it also will list financial institution's legal hierarchies.
It is used for regulatory reporting and risk mitigation.

From January 2016, two factor authentication will be mandated for all SWIFTRef users. See swift.com
for more details.

All SWIFTRef and SWIFT administrators are now able to manage their
user scope for SWIFTRef products and services using the Profile Manager on swift.com.
This includes directories downloads, online tools and remote services.

As of February 2016 the consumers in EURO countries (individuals and corporations) will not need to provide the BIC next to the IBAN in a SEPA payment (credit transfer and direct debit) in EURO currency sent to other EURO countries. Instead, the sending banks will have to complete the BIC before sending the payment to the receiving banks. The sending banks must find a way of deriving the BIC from the IBAN. SWIFT's IBAN Plus has been constructed to derive the BIC from the IBAN correctly and is the best data base available on the market.

As of October 2016 the same rule is extended to consumers and banks in non-EURO countries within SEPA when sending EURO payments

Payments UK launch SEPA payment lookup utility - two months ahead of the 1st February 2016 regulatory deadline. SWIFT partnering with Payments UK have launched a new tool to help those receiving SEPA payments to obtain the required BIC from the IBAN.

The tool offers an online lookup, a downloadable file for banks and corporates, and an API service.